BY BARRY MASSEY AND RUSSELL CONTRERAS

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

SANTA FE, N.M. -- New Mexico became the latest state to legalize gay marriage Thursday as its highest court declared it is unconstitutional to deny marriage licenses to gay and lesbian couples.

Justice Edward L. Chavez said in a ruling that none of New Mexico's marriage statutes specifically prohibits same-gender marriages, but the state's laws as a whole have prevented gay and lesbian couples from marrying. The justices said same-sex couples are a discrete group that has been subjected to a history of discrimination and violence.

"Accordingly, New Mexico may neither constitutionally deny same-gender couples the right to marry nor deprive them of the rights, protections and responsibilities of marriage laws, unless the proponents of the legislation — the opponents of same-gender marriage — prove that the discrimination caused by the legislation is 'substantially related to an important government interest,'" Chavez wrote.

New Mexico joins 16 other states and the District of Columbia in allowing gay marriage either through legislation, court rulings or voter referendums.

BY MICHELLE KAUFMAN

Figure skating legend Brian Boitano, who was named by President Obama this week to the official U.S. delegation to the 2014 Sochi Olympics, announced Thursday that he is gay and “proud to live in a country that encourages diversity, openness and tolerance.”

Boitano, 50, is the 1988 Olympic gold medalist. He had never publicly discussed his sexuality. He becomes the third openly gay athlete named to the delegation, joining tennis star Billie Jean King and two-time U.S. hockey medalist Caitlin Cahow.

Their presence representing the United States in Olympic ceremonies is viewed as a strong statement against Russia's anti-gay propaganda law.

BY KATHY MATHESON

ASSOCIATED PRESS

NORRISTOWN, Pa. -- United Methodist church officials defrocked a pastor from central Pennsylvania on Thursday who officiated his son's gay wedding in Massachusetts, a move seen as contradictory to the denomination's beliefs.

The Rev. Frank Schaefer of Lebanon had already been suspended when he met with church officials to determine whether he would continue as a pastor.

Schaefer had been told to resign from the clergy by Thursday if he could not follow the denomination's Book of Discipline. But Schaefer has said the book discriminates against gay people and vowed this week that he would not voluntarily surrender his credentials.

Church spokesman John Coleman said that officials decided to defrock him.